Lockdown being extended means more home workouts. But while we’re all for equipment-free training, “no equipment” often means high-impact on your joints. If your knees, wrists and shoulders are hating life right now, this low-impact workout is for you. It still uses zero equipment, but you won’t be doing any jumps, push-ups or high planks. Sound like sweet relief? Let’s get started!
Low-Impact Home Workout
Start with a dynamic warm-up. If your joints are hurting, it’s especially important not to skip your warm-up. Spend some extra time on areas where you feel tightness. Once you’ve finished your warm-up, you can move on to the main workout.
How It Works
The workout uses supersets — that’s two or more exercises done back to back with no rest between them. This helps elevate your heart rate, even though you’re doing low-impact moves.
READ MORE: This Is Exactly Why Your Muscles Get Sore After A Good Workout
You’ll do each superset five times, then you get a 45-second rest. Try only to rest in the dedicated rest breaks, but if you need to sneak another rest break here and there, rest just long enough to catch your breath. At the end, there’s a Tabata finisher. For the finisher, it’s important to push hard and only rest for the stipulated 10-second rest breaks.
Watch the video
MAIN WORKOUT
SET 1
Rounds: 5
Reverse Lunges: 30 seconds + Standing Cross-Body Crunch: 30 seconds
If your knees hurt doing lunges, try swapping them for reverse lunges. When you’re not stepping forward, you’re not loading the knee joint with as much pressure as you would in a forward lunge.
45 seconds’ rest
SET 2
Rounds:5
Standing Calf Raises: 15 + Grapevine: 30 seconds
This combo will get a nice burn in those calves, without hurting your knees or lower back.
45 seconds’ rest
SET 3
Rounds: 5
Prisoner wall sit: 1 minute + Fast Feet: 30 seconds
Keeping your hands behind your head in the wall sit forces your back to stay upright against the wall. The result: you load your glutes, rather than your quads and hamstrings, taking pressure off your knees.
READ MORE: This Is The Women’s Health Fitness Editor’s Go-To Warm-Up Before Any Workout
45 seconds’ rest
SET 4
Rounds: 5
Alternating Dead Bug: 10 + Hip Thrust: 12 + Ankle Touches: 30 seconds
This set will hit your abs from all angles. Be sure to keep your pelvis tilted slightly so that your lower back makes contact with the ground at all times. If your back starts to arch, stop immediately and reset.
45 seconds’ rest
TABATA FINISHER
Rounds: 2
Do the moves in order, doing as many reps as you can in 20 seconds, then resting only 10 seconds before starting the next move. When you’ve done all four moves, rest for your 10 seconds, then immediately repeat the circuit. You really want to give it horns during your work periods.
Lateral Shuffle to 10 Punches + Knee To Elbow (swap sides on the second round) + Lateral Sprints (if you have lower back pain, don’t touch the floor. If not, you must touch the floor!) + Fast feet
